Goodbye
by justinketch98
Summary: Asuna's body is infected with a fatal illness and Kirito must be ready to spend their final moments together. WARNING: This may make you sad/cry/both
1. Chapter 1

**Well it's that time of year again and after being inactive for about a year, I decided it's time to make everyone remember, by delivering feels. So enjoy. Merry Christmas.**

_Bzzzzzz...Bzzzzzz…Bzzzzzz…_

"Huh? Eh?" Kirito reached to his nightstand to grab his cellphone and saw Rika's name on the screen.

"Hello?" Kirito answered groggily.

"Kirito?! Is that you?!" Rika's voice shouted from the other end.

"Rika, what is it? It's 2 in the morning." Kirito asked, still groggy from having to wake up.

"Kirito….Something has happened, It's Asuna. She's in the hospital."

"What?!" This woke Kirito up right away. "I'm coming right there!" Kirito threw his coat on and ran out the front door.

**30 minutes later-**

Kirito ran into the hospital and, panting, asked for Asuna's room. The nurse at the front desk told him that Asuna was in surgery and that he will have to wait another half hour before she is out. Kirito went up to the operation room floor and sat in one of the chairs right outside of the door. The clock seemed to tick slowly and every minute was agony for Kirito. "_What could have happened to her…what?" _ Finally the doors swung open and a team of doctors wheeled Asuna out on a gurney. Kirito followed.

The doctors set Asuna into her room and Kirito began asking the head doctor what was going on.

"Well it's a very difficult situation right now." The doctor began. "You see, Asuna has contracted a rare mutant disease that stemmed from her prolonged time in the NerveGear during the SAO incident. You know how the NerveGear ran on microwaves right?" Kirito nodded. "Well the microwaves had mutated some of the bacteria that were already present in her body at the time. Now normally microwaves won't do much but in her case…"

"What? What is it?" Kirito asked.

"Well it seems that the bacteria were mutated in the process. Normally, these bacteria assist with the digestion of food. However this time, the bacteria have mutated into attacking her body. And because of the unknown mutation of the bacteria, not medicine we have is able to treat it. The best we can do is try to remove parts of the tissue where the bacteria is present but that only delays the inevitable."

"What does that mean?" Kirito asked, now terrified.

"It means that her body is being broken down cell by cell. The disease is consuming her from the inside. I'm sorry, but there is not much we can do." Kirito was now dumbstruck.

"How long does she have?" Kirito asked.

"By my guess, I would say within 7 to 10 days' time."

"No…." Kirito slumped down onto his knees. "No..."

"I'm sorry." The doctor replied, "But this may be it. Take this time to spend your last moments with her." And with that the doctor turned and walked away, leaving Kirito silent and in shock.

**1 week later-**

Kirito has been visiting the hospital every day for the past week. Every day he sees Asuna, the person he held most dear in his life. Sometimes she was awake, sometimes she was asleep. But no matter what, there seemed to be no sign of fear on her face. No matter what, she always seemed happy. Today was no different. Asuna still talked with Kirito as if nothing was wrong.

"So Kirito-kun, how are handling yourself lately?"

"Oh, I've been fine." Kirito looked to his girlfriend. Asuna changed drastically over the week. He limbs are thinner. He skin is very pale and her once beautiful hair now looked limp and lost its luster. She could barely sit up now without help. Kirito sighed.

"What is it Kirito-kun?" Kirito suddenly burst into tears.

"I-I'm afraid Asuna. I-I don't want you to die." Kirito broke into another series of sobs. Asuna reached across to touch Kirito's face.

"Shh. It's ok Kirito-kun." Asuna said quietly. "You've given me everything I could have asked for and I thank you for that." Kirito stopped crying and looked up. Asuna's eyes were watching him with a warmth he had never seen before.

"Asuna…."

"Don't worry Kirito-Kun. You've given me the best moments of my life. Sometimes I don't even know how to repay you for them. You've made me happy. You're the best thing that could have happened to me." Kirito leaned forward. Asuna did the same and the two shared the longest and most passionate kiss they have ever shared. Then Asuna winced in pain. "Hnnngh."

"Asuna? Asuna? What's wrong?" Kirito asked his voice full of concern. Then he heard the ominous sound of the heart rate monitor speeding up in weak beeps. Asuna fell back down onto her bed. A team of doctors rushed in. Kirito was escorted out as the doctors began trying to save Asuna's life.

**5 minutes later- **

A doctor came out of Asuna's room and turned to Kirito. He merely shook his head and then walked away. A nurse came and indicated that Kirito could come back in. Kirito went back to Asuna's side. Asuna weakly opened her eyes, and spoke in a soft voice.

"I-I'm sorry Kirito-kun, looks like this is the end." Asuna's eyes began welling up with tears and Kirito's eyes as well.

"No….No this can't be happening." Kirito cried. "Don't leave me Asuna."

"Don't worry Kirito- kun. It will be alright." Asuna's eyes began to close. "I-I love y-" but before she could get her last word out, Asuna took her final breath. The heart monitor gave its long beep to signal the end.

"No, Asuna. ASUNA!" Kirito cried out, and then fell down on her limp body and wept.

2 days later, Asuna's funeral was held. She was buried next to her ancestors in the family's private cemetery. Asuna's parents were present. Her mother was sobbing and her father was doing his best to appear strong, but anyone could tell he was choking back tears. Ryoutarou, Agil, Rika, and Keiko were all present, each of them with solemn looks on their faces. Kirito sat in the back listening to each of Asuna's relatives speak about her. Even after the service ended, Kirito stood in front of the grave and gazed down at the tombstone. He stood there for hours before finally whispering. "Goodbye, Asuna." Then he turned around and walked away, tears streaming down his face.

**Well there you go. I'm probably going to get a lot of hate for this story. Well, have a nice feels-trip.**


	2. Epilogue

**This epilogue was inspired by some friends and people that I know. You know who you people are. Enjoy ;)**

**Epilogue**

Kirito placed the Nervegear helmet on his bed and laid down. "Link Start." A barrage of colors and displays flashed before him before he found himself standing in a green and lush field with a crystal blue lake and a log cabin. Kirito gave a slight smile as this place was his recreation of his previous home on level 22 of Aincrad when he lived with Asuna. Then Asuna herself walked out of the log cabin.

"Kirito!" She cried running towards him.

"Asuna!" Kirito ran towards her before hugging her in a warm embrace.

"Are you ok Asuna?" Kirito asked.

"I'm fine Kiri-" Asuna suddenly cut herself off and Kirito pulled back.

"Asuna?" Kirito asked. Then he saw Asuna's form flicker with static and she repeated,

"I'm fine Kirito-Kun." *_bzzz* _"I'm fine Kirito-kun." *_bzzz* _"I'm fine Kirito-kun." Kirito looked down glumly before logging himself out.

Kirito sighed as he pulled the Nervegear helmet off his head with a solemn look on his face. His skin was pale and he had an air of sorrow about him. Then Kirito brought his knees up to his face and began to cry. He choked through each sob as the tears continued streaming down his face. It had been almost a week since that day when Asuna passed away. Kirito hadn't slept or eaten for days as he tried to recreate his Asuna back in the digital world. And each time it was a failure. Sobbing, Kirito thought to himself, "_I can't bring her back…She's gone for good this time…"_ No matter how hard he tried Kirito couldn't bring back Asuna. He forced himself to accept this fact and wallowed in endless despair as he thought of the love he had lost.


End file.
